Frequently Asked Questions

Depending on which national guide you read, it runs about $0.06 to $0.35 a square foot. HomeGuide's range for a lawn of 5,000 square feet is roughly $1,000 to $1,750, and it notes that most companies set a minimum job fee of $300 to $500 or more. Grading, topsoil and slopes push the total up, so your yard's quote follows a measurement.

Mid-August to mid-September, per the University of Minnesota Extension. Early spring is the next best for repairs and overseeding. Later in fall, the grass has too little time to root before the ground freezes.

It is not an instant lawn. You water lightly several times a day for the first weeks, you stay off it until it is established, and weeds have more of a chance than in sod. Extension says a seeded lawn takes nearly a full season to mature.

Small areas, yes, with a pump sprayer kit or a rented machine. The hard parts are getting the seed and mulch rates even across the yard and preparing the soil properly. For a whole yard, a slope or a lot that needs a city erosion permit, a crew with a full-size machine is usually faster and more consistent.

If the work disturbs more than 500 square feet or 5 cubic yards of soil, the city requires an erosion and sediment control permit. Over 5,000 square feet, an approved erosion control plan is required first. We can tell you during the site walk whether your project is likely to cross those lines.

Yes. The city's fertilizer ordinance limits phosphorus but allows it during the first growing season of a new lawn, or when a soil test shows a need. Our starter fertilizer follows that rule.

Extension notes sod gives immediate cover on slopes and erosion-prone areas, staked in place across the slope. Hydroseed works on slopes too when it goes over a blanket or with extra tackifier and mulch. We look at the grade and the runoff before recommending one.

HomeGuide puts the first mowing at about 4 to 6 weeks after seeding. Keep foot traffic, pets and play off it until then, and expect it to toughen up over the following season.

Depending on the guide, a lawn of 5,000 square feet runs roughly $350 to $1,750, and companies commonly charge a minimum of $300 to $500 or more per job. Soil prep and topsoil are extra. We give you a figure after measuring.

Under good conditions hydroseeded grass often shows in 5 to 7 days, but Kentucky bluegrass can take 2 to 3 weeks. Mixes with ryegrass show green sooner while the bluegrass catches up.

We usually advise against it. Grass seeded that late has little time to root before the ground freezes. Waiting for spring, or seeding as late as Extension's mid-September window allows, gives better results.

No, but you need a way to water every part of the lawn lightly several times a day for the first weeks. Hoses with timers and sprinklers work. If nobody can water, we will talk about timing or sod.

Some will. Extension notes seeded lawns face more weed pressure than sod. A thick stand of grass and regular mowing crowd most of them out by the end of the first season.

For typical work, consumer cost guides range from about $2,000 to $4,900 an acre, and some run higher for full-service jobs. Public bids we have seen for a 2023 park project came in near $2,600 to $3,300 per acre. Your site's mix, access and water source set the actual number.

Under the state construction stormwater permit, stabilization starts immediately when work in an area stops for 14 days and must be finished within 14 days, or 7 days near special or impaired waters. Your plan may set tighter limits.

Yes. Many pond plans call for native grass or wetland edge mixes rather than turf. We spray whatever mix the plan specifies, often with a heavier mulch rate on the slopes.

Once the ground is frozen, seed does not establish. Late in the season we use mulch, blankets or dormant seeding methods depending on the plan and what the inspector will accept.

Straw blankets are lighter and break down faster, which suits moderate slopes. Coir is coconut fiber and lasts longer, so it is better for steep banks and channels.

On short, moderate slopes with no runoff from above, often yes. On long or steep slopes, or where water runs over the top, a blanket or bonded fiber matrix holds better.

No. Straw and coir rot away on their own. Some products use netting that hangs around longer, so where mowing or wildlife is an issue, ask us for biodegradable netting.

We can seed and blanket the upland slope above the shoreline. Work in or below the water line usually needs DNR and watershed district approval, which the owner should check first.

The city requires an erosion and sediment control permit for disturbance over 500 square feet or 5 cubic yards, and the permit conditions usually call for perimeter control on the downhill side. Your permit or plan says exactly what is needed.

The permit holder, usually the owner or general contractor. We can do the maintenance for you, but the permit responsibility stays with the holder.

Under the state permit, when sediment reaches half the fence height it must be cleaned out or the fence supplemented by the end of the next business day.

No, vehicles would destroy it. Openings need a different control, such as a rock construction entrance or a gap protected another way, as the plan specifies.

Yes. We install inlet protection that suits the inlet type and traffic, and remove it when the area draining to it has permanent cover.

It depends on what is there now. Where the dark surface layer was stripped, a few inches of topsoil blended into the subsoil makes a big difference for new roots. We check the soil during the site walk and quote a depth.

Often it can. We reshape the yard so it slopes away from the foundation, and add a swale or drain line where needed. If the real problem is the foundation or a sewer line, we will tell you.

In Minneapolis, if the work disturbs more than 500 square feet or 5 cubic yards of soil, an erosion and sediment control permit is required.

On small jobs we spread it on site where it helps the grade. Larger amounts can be hauled; that is a separate line on the quote.

Extension's rule of thumb is renovation when 30 to 50 percent of the lawn is dead, thin, thatchy or weedy. Less than that, overseeding and better care usually do the job.

Yes, early spring as the lawn greens up is Extension's second-best time. Late summer is better because seedlings avoid summer heat and weeds.

Usually shade and root competition. Overseeding with a fine fescue mix suited to shade, and raising the mowing height, often helps more than adding fertilizer.

Keep heavy traffic off the seeded areas through the first few mowings. Extension suggests mowing short for about a month so light can reach the seedlings.